Kukla's Korner Hockey

The NHL and the NHL Players Association are meeting with the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation today and tomorrow in New York to determine whether the league will allow its players to participate in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

One person who doesn’t believe NHL players should take part in the Olympics is Capitals Coach Adam Oates, even though he understands how it can help promote hockey.

“You know what, I don’t. I don’t. My honest answer is no,” Oates said Wednesday to a small group of reporters in Tampa. “Is it good for hockey that they do it? Great. But I grew up trying to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, not Team Canada. Didn’t even know it existed.”